La La Land

Looking out over LA from Hollywood Bowl

“Life is a highway I want to ride it all night long” is the famous line in Tom Cochrane’s 1991 smash hit. However, we suddenly found ourselves on a highway that we quickly wished to exit as we entered Los Angeles County from

the relaxed vibe of the Pacific Coast. A maze of whizzing traffic 8-10 lanes deep, interchanges at every turn, Steve went from tourist to  professional Nascar driver as he snaked all 38 feet of our RV between lanes of traffic. With his head on a swivel and hands white knuckling the steering wheel, we finally crossed the finish line when we arrived at Walnut Grove RV Park. Needless to say, a celebratory cocktail was in order. 

Settled in in the community of Northridge, just 23 miles outside of Hollywood,

we decided to stay for a couple of days and take in the sights and sounds of Tinsel Town. Hollywood certainly caters to the tourist and there were an abundance of tours that we could have taken but when you travel with your own wheels and you’ve got Google who needs to spend money on touristy stuff like that? So off we went on the motorcycle in search of the best place to see the infamous Hollywood sign!  Mulholland Drive, which coincidentally is also where many actors and actresses live, had a great lookout over Hollywood Bowl and the city of Los Angeles. After touring around the area we decided to

head straight for Hollywood Boulevard and take in the Walk of Fame. We walked both sides of the strip admiring all the stars of film and music, stopped into an Irish Pub and then headed on down to the Chinese Theatre. 

The sights along Mulholland Drive 

                   

The Walk of Fame

      

Located on Hollywood Boulevard, just a stones throw from the site of the Academy Awards, is the TCL Chinese Theatre. Known as the most iconic movie palace in the world it is  home to the most prominent red carpet movie premieres and special events and the place where ordinary people became Hollywood celebrities. Located just outside the doors to the theatre are the cement hand and footprints of major movie stars from past to present. It was

fascinating to stroll amongst the cement platforms, reminiscing about the

contributions these people made to the theatrical world and to our enjoyment. Many paid a huge price for Hollywood fame and some have seemingly escaped the cruel world of glitz and glamour. This stark reminder was most notably evident in the streets before us as construction crews and other “important people” were erecting the set of the upcoming Academy Awards and Yes!!! we did get a chance to walk the red carpet (while it was still covered in plastic)!

Home of the Academy Awards - The Dolby Theatre

Exciting times!

Time to head back to the RV. What should normally take a 25 minute drive ended up taking us a little over an hour and half because of the enormous traffic. Our second day in the LA area was a day to relax. We didn’t feel like battling that monster of steel and rubber again. Steve was still thinking about his missed opportunity to buy a factory made Taylor guitar and ironically enough The Guitar Centre was just up the road so we took a walk up “just to have a look” and came home proud owners of a new guitar and a free ukulele just for me! So now we are getting ready for OUR Hollywood debut! 

We were happy to have visited the Los Angeles area but we were just as happy to leave. Hollywood is Hollywood, nothing grandiose or extra special, in fact it really appeared old and dilapidated. In fact the sad reality was that just metres away from Hollywood Boulevard, under an overpass, were rows of tents and shopping carts holding the life possessions of homeless people. The thick smog that hugs the mountainside mansions of their overpaid occupants masks the true reality of the many ordinary people of Southern California. Time to head east!

Back to traffic once again!

Our navigation system as we leave Los Angeles!

Sunny San Diego

San Diego is definitely a place in Southern California to which we would return. With a population of 1.4 million people, we felt comfortable and safe and had no problem in finding things to do and places to see. The delightfully warm temperatures, blue sky and sunshine was also something we really appreciated during our three day stay. 

A fun way to start our visit! Held every weekend!

San Diego has an amazing culture and relaxed vibe. No place was this more evident then during our visit to Seaport Village, a quaint little seaside board walk of local shops, restaurants and brewpubs. Many people milled about

enjoying the warm temperatures and local entertainment while others took advantage of the scenic area to get ina morning run. Not far from the village was the USS Midway Museum,  the United States’ longest serving aircraft carrier of the 20th century, from 1945 to 1992. A self guided audio tour led us through the map and chart room, the wheelhouse, the Brig and engine room as well as along the armoured flight deck. We also had an opportunity to take in a variety of presentations by retired navy personnel that highlighted the capabilities of the ship. It was a very interesting tour.

The USS Midway

The Brig of the ship

San Diego Harbour

During our second day, we decided to visit the Torrey Pines Recreation Area along the northern coastal area of San Diego. The hike was a coastal network of dirt hiking trails along bluffs overlooking the Pacific, through sandstone canyons

and protected wilderness areas of pine trees. The approximately 6 kilometre hike is very popular but one we are glad to have taken in. The end of the hike took us back along the beach, a mix of sand and beautifully coloured beach rocks. A trip to visit Old Town San Diego was certainly in order after this little excursion. Created in 1769 it is California’s first settlement and is considered the historic heart of San Diego. The Old Town has done a wonderful job at retaining its natural character, converting the old buildings into museums and specialty shops. There were also many restaurants, opportunities for wine tasting and local entertainment. A drive into the hills above Old Town displayed beautifully appointed homes reflecting the influence of Spanish and Mexican architecture. It was a great end to our day!

During our time in the area we had discovered that the Taylor Guitar Factory was right in our backyard AND they offered free factory tours Monday to Friday. Being a guitar enthusiast this was not an opportunity Steve could pass up and

 boy I’m glad we didn’t. The 1 hour guide led tour took us through the complete manufacturing process from raw product right through to the guitar being put on the retail shelf. We learned a lot about the manufacturing process and Taylor’s commitment to environmental sustainability, replanting more trees than they use to produce their product. The Ebony Project highlights the work Taylor is doing in Cameroon, Africa in sourcing and processing ebony for the manufacturing of their guitars but also demonstrates their social responsibility in assisting the communities and the people of the area. If you are ever in the San Diego area this is one tour you don’t want to miss. It was hard, but we did manage to escape the factory without Steve buying a brand new Taylor!

In the Milling area

Time to leave now and head North along the Pacific 101 Highway! Our drive through Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach reflected the amazing views synonymous with the California coast as well as the amazing wealth of the people who live there. Every car we passed was a Bentley, Maserati or Ferrari and then everyone else drove BMW’s, Mercedes, and Porches. The houses were sprawling mansions, all occupying coveted hillside space with Pacific views. The cost of overnighting in the parks in these areas also reflected the cost of living!! Moving on towards Santa Monica and Malibu, we gradually made our way to the bustling city of Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Beautiful Laguna Beach

Heading South...Arizona And Beyond!

Leaving the Silver State of Nevada we headed south to Arizona. The weather on a daily basis has been sunny with blue skies, averaging temperatures of 20-23 degrees celsius by mid afternoon. We quickly discovered that many Canadian snowbirds and folks from the northern States make the yearly winter pilgrimage to Arizona looking to escape the cold clutches of Mother Nature. Many people travel in RV's and some come to their winter homes to enjoy all that the state has to offer besides just great weather.

Beautiful Lake Havasu!

One such place is Lake Havasu City! This was our first stop after leaving the Las Vegas area. Just a  2 1/2 hour drive on the I-95 South and there we were; surrounded by tranquil waters, rugged mountains and barren desert. This was truly a playground as everywhere we looked people were boating, fishing, camping and off roading. We were also surprised to learn that Lake Havasu City was home to the original London Bridge that had once spanned the River Thames from 1831 until 1967 at which time the City of London began searching for a potential buyer. The bridge had begun sinking and became overburdened by the traffic flow of London but Lake Havasu City's founder did indeed see the value of having a little piece of Europe in the United States and successfully won the bid that saw each of the 10 276 granite blocks disassembled and reassembled in Lake Havasu City. Today London Bridge, complete with iconic lamp posts, is the second largest tourist draw in Arizona after the Grand Canyon. We enjoyed our hike over from the State Park that we were staying in and visiting the touristy shops that have a very British feel.

Each granite block was numbered before the bridge was disassembled!

The original lamp posts are said to be made from the melted down cannon balls of Napolean's Battle of Waterloo.

Another 2 hours south and we stopped at Quartzsite, Arizona. This quirky little town of approximately 3600 people may very well be the boondocking capital of

the world!!! When we approached the boundaries of the town there were RVs EVERYWHERE! Some were parked in RV parks but most were just pitched in the desert. Though it's really not a very pretty place the population swells from January to March with RV Shows and vendors peddling everything from rocks, gems, and beads to clothing and expired groceries. Many people come and boondock to visit the flea markets and big tent events. One night was enough for us and we decided to move on!

Located in southwestern Arizona is the town of Yuma or as I have heard it said, "the sunniest place on earth", boasting over 4000 hours of sunshine each year. Yuma certainly did not disappoint us on our 2 day visit! It's close proximity to the Mexican border enticed us to do what all the other thousands of Americans do every day; park for $6 in a large lot operated by the Quechan Indian Nation and then walk down the ramp and across the border to Los Algodones, Mexico. Just like that we were in Mexico and in the midst of street vendors and markets selling cheap sunglasses, purses, wallets, clothing and lawn decorations.

A delicious taco salad!

Medical tourism is huge for this small Mexican town and we were constantly harassed by Mexicans offering us cheap dental work, optical supplies and prescription medication. Our conversations with many Americans who do visit for medical reasons tell us that the medical service is good and much much cheaper than what they can get in their home state. We each enjoyed a margarita and some lunch and then decided to get in the lineup to cross back into the United States. I forgot how much I loathe the haggling you must endure when visiting Mexico and so we were happy enough to leave and head back to the camper.

Mexican vendors selling their wares to the line of people crossing back over the border

On The Road Again

A colleague of mine would always say that the worst thing about travelling is “the comin’s and the goin’s” and boy was she right! Our trip back to Vegas to restart our vacation was uneventful….a smooth plane ride with no delays, good service and friendly people…you know, the typical Air Canada or Westjet television commercial. What they DON’T show you is that for 8 1/2 hours you must endure that cattle car feeling because you are stuffed into an overheated and cramped row of seats, jockeying for elbow space with a complete stranger who is clearly too big for his seat. And to top it all off, even though you aren’t hungry but eating helps pass the time AND is a good distraction, you are forced to purchase overpriced food and add unwanted pounds to your already bulging Christmas waistline. Let’s just say that the 12 degree temperatures when we arrived 11:00 at night and the obvious lack of 10 foot high snow drifts was all worth the torture! We had traded those nasty snow days for glorious sun rays!

Upon our arrival,  we had arranged for a cheap hotel room downtown close to the “Fremont Street Experience”! Though we had had the pleasure of

experiencing this feast for the senses back in November, the need to get out and breathe some oxygen and move our bodies was just too great and so we headed down for another visit. Our Uber driver had explained that the city had installed a new overhead HD canopy back in December and that “the experience” was even better and, I have to say, it was pretty impressive. 

The next day we went to the storage facility in neighbouring Henderson to retrieve our motorhome and discovered it had been broken into. Somehow the would-be bandits had popped open a back compartment that held storage containers of our clothes. They had rifled through our things but nothing seemed to be missing. They had also jimmied the other compartment locks and the main door but luckily didn’t gain access. So much for paid and secure storage. We jumped aboard the RV, started her up and she purred like a kitten. It was so nice to be on the road again! 

We decided to go back to Sam’s Town KOA Park for a couple of nights. The park had great facilities, was clean and safe and the jet lag was killing us! Not to mention,  there were still a few things on our Vegas bucket list of places to see that we hadn’t gotten to on our previous visit. Our first night back at the park we went to bed at 6pm!! We were so exhausted! Steve was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Me, on the other hand, I tossed and turned for a bit and was just beginning to doze off when our trailer began swaying back and forth. This went on for a few minutes! I thought I was hallucinating or something but came to find out the next morning that the rocking we had felt was a 4.6 magnitude earthquake that had occurred in Barstow, California just two hours south of us. Wow! That was the first time I had ever been in an earthquake!!

That day we took the motorcycle out for a drive through the Valley of Fire and then headed back down on the street to visit Pawn Stars. Steve is a big fan of

this History Channel reality show and it was nice to be able to see where everything was shot. Of course, the stars of the show, Rick and Chumlee, weren’t there. We went next door to Rick’s Tavern for a bite to eat in hopes that he might make an appearance but no such luck so after a couple of hours we jumped back on the bike and headed back to Sam’s Town. Tomorrow we are leaving Sin City and heading South!